Tiger Guards

Chapter 473 Traditional Wisdom
South of Pingyang lies Yangmashi.

This is a separate, government-run market. There are three such markets in total, the other two being in Jinyang and Anyi.

However, Anyi was quite far away for the various Xiongnu tribes at the time, and driving herds of animals there for trade would incur additional losses and tariffs.

Inside the sheep and horse market, nobles from various Xiongnu tribes personally organized their people to drive herds of animals to trade salt, iron, cloth, medicine, books, and the like.

Jia Kui, traveling light and with few attendants, inspected the sheep and horse market in Pingyang.

The Xiongnu nobles were extravagant spenders and loved to enjoy life.

Due to years of climate disasters, these Xiongnu nobles also lived a life of hardship.

They didn't even trust their subordinates, and mostly participated in the border trade themselves.

The purchasing power of various currencies is currently unstable, and most transactions are currently based on barter.

Regardless of the type of transaction, a transaction tax must be paid, and customs duties must also be paid when passing through checkpoints on the return trip.

Jia Kui casually checked the accounts, staring at them speechlessly for a long time.

We thought the various Xiongnu tribes would actively purchase ironware, so this year we forged small iron pots and sold them in limited quantities, hoping to get a high price.

The cooking utensils of the Xiongnu people...were always rather simple and pitiful.

The tin pot consumed less fuel and was more durable and shatter-resistant than the earthenware pot, making it a better fit for the nomadic and migrating Xiongnu people.

Even swords that the army planned to phase out, Jia Kui thought he could sell for a good price.

As a result, the Xiongnu nobles lacked enthusiasm for these two types of products, and they mainly purchased various locust pills.

As a result, the biggest profits from this month-long trade fair, which started at the end of August, went to Zhao Ji's Pingyang Marquis's residence.

The Qinghuangdan, which strengthens the body and enhances male virility, was, in some ways, more effective for the Xiongnu nobles.

Only by maintaining good health can they securely serve as leaders of their people, enjoy the service of their servants, and command their sons and disciples to work tirelessly for them.

And aphrodisiacs enable them to have more offspring, which is the fundamental productive force for the family to grow and erode and replace other families in the tribe!

The future belongs to the young, and the young people of the future are the children of today.

The family with the most children and the strongest reproductive capacity has a promising future.

The nomadic lifestyle is slow-paced, so the earthenware pots will cook for a longer time, since it's not like the food won't cook properly.

Swords and knives were of no use to the Xiongnu nobles at the time. Those selected to join the army in response to the call to arms were not given spoils of war; they were simply given uniforms and weapons when they joined the army.

As long as the craft is still being made, bows and arrows, swords and knives can be taken home.

Therefore, the Xiongnu nobles were not enthusiastic about swords and weapons. Based on their understanding of Zhao Ji, it was impossible for Zhao Ji to forcefully mobilize them and send his cavalrymen to the battlefield with bone spears, bone arrows, or stone arrowheads.

As Jia Kui was compiling reports based on the sheep and horse market ledgers, a subordinate knocked on the door and stood there, saying, "Prime Minister, the Right Wise King has arrived."

"How did he get here so quickly?"

Jia Kui stopped writing and looked at his subordinate, who was also a former Tiger Warrior. He smiled and replied, "We came by boat to welcome the Grand Marshal's triumphant return. This is a letter of invitation from the Right Wise King."

Seeing Jia Kui nod, the subordinate official entered the house and handed over the visiting card, whispering, "The person who sent the card also explained his purpose. He said that the Right Wise King believes that the Grand Marshal will conquer the Lushui Hu and the Beidi Hu. He hopes that the Prime Minister can put in a good word for him, and that the Right Wing Right Guard is no less capable than the Tu Ge Right Guard."

"A few kind words?"

Jia Kui opened the visiting card and, seeing the generous gifts, composed himself and said, "Return the gift list. The Right Wise King and the Grand Marshal share a common sentiment in their efforts to restore the Han Dynasty, so I cannot refuse to see them. Go to the market and buy a fish to make fish soup to entertain the Right Wise King. Also, inform the messenger of this matter, and I hope the Right Wise King will not take offense."

"Here."

The subordinate official bowed and asked, "Prime Minister, entertaining the Right Wise King is an official matter. Should we still pay for the fish?"

“Deduct it from my salary, and I might as well buy five more bushels of mare’s milk wine and deduct it from my salary as well.”

Jia Kui remained expressionless, or rather, his demeanor was perfectly normal. This was the foundation of the Jia family's existence: by not coveting a single penny, they could emerge unscathed from all kinds of conflicts.

Now a strict alcohol ban is in effect, prohibiting the brewing of alcohol from grains; instead, fruit trees can be planted and various fruits can be harvested to brew alcohol.

Fruit wine is not easy to preserve, but mare's milk wine was quite valuable among the Xiongnu people and became the mainstream wine in official markets after autumn.

Mare's milk wine is not a white, milky, cloudy liquid. Well-made mare's milk wine is clear and has a mild milky smell.

Prohibition laws were only effective against groups of officials' tenants and military households. Officials' homes were often surrounded by high walls and large courtyards, and some even had excavated spacious cellars where they could secretly brew wine for private consumption, making it difficult to be discovered. As long as one didn't drink in groups, brewing a single vat of wine secretly wasn't a big deal.

However, alcoholics often enjoy lively gatherings while indulging in alcohol; they find no fun in drinking with others.

So every now and then a group of drunkards would be arrested and thrown into the government workshops to do menial tasks that required no skill.

On the north bank of the Fen River, at the dock, was a wine shop run by a Xiongnu nobleman.

A dozen or so Xiongnu warriors stood with their hands on their swords. Liu Qubei, wearing a golden eagle headdress, held a short knife in his right hand and was carefully scraping the gaps between his left fingernails. His eyes were fixed on the scraped area, and his expression was serious.

The nobleman who went to deliver the visiting card spoke softly, and when he didn't know how to describe some words in Chinese, he would use the Xiongnu language.

Liu Qubei frowned repeatedly as he listened to the Xiongnu language spoken by the man; the new generation of nobles clearly lacked a solid foundation in Han studies.

Compared to the older generation, they are far inferior. If left unchecked, it could lead to some disasters he doesn't want to see in the future.

Liu Qubei is quite enjoying the changes in his current fate.

From the moment he responded to the Han court's call to participate in the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he stayed in Han territory with the former Chanyu Yufuluo, and later became involved in the chaotic war among various warlords.

Liu Qubei managed to save his life by repeatedly jumping left and right.

If Zhao Ji were more demanding, Liu Qubei would have been required to accompany the Xiongnu on their expeditions to the east last year and this year, as the leader of the Xiongnu retinue.

However, Zhao Ji spared Liu Qubei and did not forcibly conscript Chanyu Huchuquan and Zuo Xianwang Liu Bao to accompany him on the expedition.

Zhao Ji chose to personally coordinate the Xiongnu righteous knights, which allowed Liu Qubei to enjoy a peaceful life, but also deprived him of the opportunity to strengthen control over the righteous knights during the war.

Compared to the more obedient Tiger Step Army and the commandery and kingdom soldiers, the Xiongnu Righteous Army was undisciplined and often demanded exorbitant prices, proposing various temporary agreements that were favorable to them.

Therefore, when recruiting volunteers from the Xiongnu, various Qiang, Xianbei, and Wuhuan throughout history, it seemed that the central government proposed the task, but it was entrusted to powerful figures in the border regions.

In reality, this powerful figure was often just a military contractor, a middleman, and the recruited knights were still led by the original nobles.

Therefore, the loyal knights frequently followed the Han army in battle, but they were not affected by the Han army and maintained their original way of life. It was difficult for a large number of them to be assimilated.

Zhao Ji personally managed the various Xiongnu volunteer units. Although the rewards were not very generous, they eliminated the two intermediaries who exploited the Xiongnu. Therefore, when these rewards actually reached the Xiongnu volunteers, they could immediately improve their lives and enhance their voice and status within the tribe.

Although Liu Qubei was well aware that Zhao Ji was continuously strengthening his control over the various Xiongnu tribes through the Yi Cong Knights, what could he do?
Without Zhao Ji, how could he have risen to the position of Right Wise King?
As a follower of the former Chanyu Yufuluo, normally he should have been suppressed by Huchuquan and the Tuge Xiongnu, and might have died an unnatural death one day.

In the process of Zhao Ji seizing power from the Xiongnu nobles, he, as the Right Wise King, actually benefited.

But what happens to nobles like him once Zhao Ji has completely won over and gained the trust and support of the Xiongnu people?
Not daring to cause trouble, he could only urge his younger generation to study Chinese classics diligently so that they could also enter officialdom in the future.

However, the Xiongnu people's lifestyle destined them to be carefree, and only with a carefree personality could they adapt to and survive the long and closed winter.

Even Liu Qubei, when he was young, studied at the Imperial Academy... To be precise, it was a tradition since the Spring and Autumn Period for hostages from vassal states to mingle at the Imperial Academy, and this tradition can perhaps be traced back hundreds or thousands of years further back from the Spring and Autumn Period.

In short, when Liu Qubei, a son of a Xiongnu noble family, was at the Imperial Academy, he learned how to interact with his classmates who were of noble rank. He found no fun in proper Chinese and elegant language, but he was quite adept at using slang and witty remarks.

Learning the local dialects of students from all over the country and then showing off those dialects was Liu Qubei's greatest pleasure during his time at the Imperial Academy.

This pleasure, in turn, saved his life during a time of great chaos.

The biggest problem at hand is that the two universities in Hedong and Longcheng are for students from poor families, which is of little practical significance to the Xiongnu nobles.

The young Xiongnu nobles didn't go to the university to study the classics; they went to visit friends.

Zhao Ji's business partners were all young people, which resulted in the absence of respectable sons of noble families in both universities.

For the Xiongnu nobles, a university without classmates of nobles was a complete waste of time.

Liu Qubei pondered silently, feeling that he should find a way to push this matter forward.

The relationships formed with classmates at the Imperial Academy are far more solid than those formed in ordinary times, and can benefit one for a lifetime, even extending to one's descendants.

The decline of the Xiongnu nobility was irreversible; they either had to transform into nobles of the new dynasty or curry favor with other nobles.

It wasn't that Liu Qubei was particularly farsighted, but rather that, as someone who had been through it all, he felt that now was the time to do something to get everything back on a track he was more familiar with.

At the very least, if you manage to get out of the Imperial Academy and shamelessly stay in Han territory, becoming a minor official isn't difficult.

(End of this chapter)